All of Metro's new 7000 Series rail cars need wiring replaced
All of Metros new 7000 Series rail cars need wiring replaced
By Max Smith |
@amaxsmith
August 7, 2018 4:10 am
WASHINGTON Metro must replace faulty wiring on every single one of its new 7000 Series rail cars in a process that could take a year or longer, according to a new internal review that also found other significant issues tied to the rail car manufacturing program.
Since the cars first went into production in 2012, wire crimping has never been done properly, a review by Metros Quality Assurance, Internal Compliance & Oversight office found. That has contributed to incidents where rail cars have problems that can create significant delays.
As of last month, Metro had accepted and placed into service 548 of the rail cars. Each of those cars will need to be taken out of service for a time to have its wiring replaced. The repairs would likely be done in phases, not all at once.
The agency expects to receive the last of the 748 cars on order by next summer to
replace older cars, although the wiring issues and other problems have delayed deliveries recently.